Well, finally broke down and took the mustang into a general body shop to get the lower engine crossmember fixed.
I've been driving around without one since May. When I fired my engine for the first time, #6 counterweight was striking the oil pan. Doofus on my for not checking prior to puting the engine back in the car. The guy I bought the engine from hoisted it out with chains around pan. I should have known better. But I digress. In an effort to remove the oil pan, I removed the lower crossmember. First bolt came off without too much anguish, though it took a lot of PB Blaster and a 18" solid socket and a 2 foot breaker bar. The second bolt sheared off.
So a few weeks ago, I got the car on a lift and attempted to drill out enough to get an easy out in there. Got the EZ out in and started to turn it, with a 3" breaker bar. After about 5 minutes of trying this, the EZOUT sheered right off. So now the tip of the EZout is in the bolt. So I attempt to drill it out and just retap. After about 10 minutes of drilling with titanium bits, I discovered that EZ Outs are probably the hardest metal known to man. 10 minutes and not even a scratch. Only my bit is hot as heck.
So now she is in the shop. The only other way to fix it is to cut the side of the frame rail beside the nut inside the rail that holds the crossmember, remove the nut, reweld a new nut in place, and weld the frame back up. I feel like she is having an appendix removed or something.
Not too expensive, I found a really good shop that does great work at a good price and this time I don't have to drive 300 miles to PA to get the work done. This place is only 10 miles.
On the downside of this experience (besides the lost money), I think I discovered new rust on the forward frame rails. Not a good thing, but the guy things it may be fixable. He's going to check when he fixes the lower crossmember.
Slade
I've been driving around without one since May. When I fired my engine for the first time, #6 counterweight was striking the oil pan. Doofus on my for not checking prior to puting the engine back in the car. The guy I bought the engine from hoisted it out with chains around pan. I should have known better. But I digress. In an effort to remove the oil pan, I removed the lower crossmember. First bolt came off without too much anguish, though it took a lot of PB Blaster and a 18" solid socket and a 2 foot breaker bar. The second bolt sheared off.
So a few weeks ago, I got the car on a lift and attempted to drill out enough to get an easy out in there. Got the EZ out in and started to turn it, with a 3" breaker bar. After about 5 minutes of trying this, the EZOUT sheered right off. So now the tip of the EZout is in the bolt. So I attempt to drill it out and just retap. After about 10 minutes of drilling with titanium bits, I discovered that EZ Outs are probably the hardest metal known to man. 10 minutes and not even a scratch. Only my bit is hot as heck.
So now she is in the shop. The only other way to fix it is to cut the side of the frame rail beside the nut inside the rail that holds the crossmember, remove the nut, reweld a new nut in place, and weld the frame back up. I feel like she is having an appendix removed or something.
Not too expensive, I found a really good shop that does great work at a good price and this time I don't have to drive 300 miles to PA to get the work done. This place is only 10 miles.
On the downside of this experience (besides the lost money), I think I discovered new rust on the forward frame rails. Not a good thing, but the guy things it may be fixable. He's going to check when he fixes the lower crossmember.
Slade
